Gameday Preview: OKC Thunder tip off 2019 in LA to LeBron-less Lakers

Repeat the defensive template from Mavericks win:

As I noted above and in the three takeaways the win on New Year’s Eve offered the perfect template for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook was stellar offensively capitalizing on his mid range brilliance and mixing those shots with drives and dimes.

Paul George sparked the team’s night with a 16 point, four steals, first quarter. Jerami Grant continues to display his offensive growth and showcase the need for Donovan to create more shot opportunities for him. Steven Adams was his typical underrated brilliant self.

But, most importantly the Thunder played to their defensive identity. This was punctuated best by forcing the Mavericks to turn over the ball 29 times resulting in 36 points scored off those miscues.

On the season the Thunder rank first defensively and score the most points (21.3) off turnovers. This bodes well for OKC given the Lakers are tied in seventh for the most turnovers in the NBA. The opportunities for OKC increase with the absence of James. Case in point the Lakers are giving up 5.7 additional fast break points without the King in their lineup.

Contain Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball:

Not all the youngsters are struggling without LeBron James active. Brandon Ingram is perhaps the one Laker who is benefiting from James absence as he excels with the ball in his hand and hasn’t transitioned well to playing off ball.

Lonzo Ball has fit in fine with James, but with Rajon Rondo also out Ball is getting to run the offense more often and create for his teammates. Ball still can’t shoot efficiently so the goal should be to limit his drives and passing lanes and tempt him to shoot.

The one youngster who has played well with or without LeBron is Kyle Kuzma, so he’ll need to draw major attention from the Thunder defense.

Control the Lakers fast breaks and transition:

On the season the Lakers are the second most adept (19.9) at scoring points in the fast break and in the paint (55.5). Without James and Rondo they’ve slipped to 8th and 11th respectively, but will definitely look to push the tempo and either score easily in transition or drive the paint for efficient paint scoring.

The Lakers play with the third fastest pace so OKC will need to be sharp on transition defense. LA has made strides defensively as well although their early prowess may be inflated given who they’ve played. In the 18 games played versus current playoff seeds the Lakers are 9-9 and they don’t possess a winning road record but are more difficult to beat at Staples (13-6).

Notably, the Lakers have some key wins against the top tier teams like the Nuggets and Warriors, but LeBron James clearly helped in those causes.